Discordia Nocturne

Chapter 2

Darkness. Endless, endless darkness. Were his eyes even open? They felt open...but he couldn’t see. He blinked. He felt his eyelids meet and break apart. Nothing changed.

“Hello?” Presto braved a small call to the darkness. There was no response.

His hooves moved, grinding against what felt like stone. The grinding sound was louder than it should’ve been. It unsettled Presto, like if he made too much noise, a monster would emerge from the blackness and consume him. Regardless, Presto pressed on, and stood himself up. He felt a cold chill run from his flank and up to his mane. It made his flesh crawl, his hair rise on end.

“Hello?” Presto tried again. Again, the abyss before him remained silent. Swallowing hard, Presto began to slowly trot forward. His hooves clopped against the stone floor, destroying the silence, and unsettling him further. He felt like the silent nothingness was being bothered by the noise he was making, that just the smallest of noise angered it. He certainly dared not speak again lest whatever he felt like he was disturbing emerge and rip him to shreds.

Presto stopped and lifted a hoof up to his face. He couldn’t see it, it was so dark. But he could feel it. Feel him. He was shaking. Shaking terribly so. When he placed his hoof back down, it tapped lightly twice against the floor as it shook.

“Scared? Goodness, what happened to that angry bravery you had just a moment ago?” Discord’s voice literally blew through the darkness, causing Presto to jump back as his mane and tail shifted and whipped in the burst of air that came with the taunt.

“Discord! W-where are you?”

“Oh...right here! Can’t you see me? No, I don’t suppose you can. No magic, right. Heh. Well, let me give you a hand, then.” A few feet in front of him, Presto saw deep red lights flash to life. They illuminated a wooden door. The doorway seemed to simply sit in the middle of nothingness. There was nothing on the other side, so, in any other situation, opening it would be utterly pointless. Of course Presto knew better. Discord could practically do anything.

Seemingly on cue, Discord extended his long body from behind the door. His grin was malicious, and even though his body had a very crimson tint to it, Presto could see the grey diluting his natural colors. Presto had no time to really think on that oddity, as Discord continued to extend from the door. In fact, he began to grow, and the lights grew with him. The red silhouette of Discord leaned over the door. His talon and paw balanced him from the top of the door. His grin seemed to grow, and his teeth seemed more jagged than before.

“See me now?” Discord’s voice was rougher...more monstrous. Presto didn’t respond, he simply looked up in awe as Discord stood so tall...so large. If Presto didn’t know better, he’d say he was as tall as a house. “What’s the matter?” Discord’s bulking neck extended down towards the cowering Presto. “Too big?” Discord snapped back, making Presto jump again. Discord vanished behind the door and it swung open with a more normal sized Discord strolling out. He closed the door behind him.“Is this a bit easier for you?”

“W-what did you do with the others. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Twilight...where are they?” Discord shook his head at the question, his claws grinding together as he leaned against the closed door.

“Well I can’t tell you, you stupid Pony.” Discord scoffed, “That’s part of the game.”

“Game?”

“Yes...a game. The game is for you to escape from my fun-house. Having any of those six with you when you reach the end will get you one prize for each.” Discord held up a single digit of his talon, but then it flattened out dismissively, “But you don’t need to have any with you when you escape to win. Quite frankly, you could ignore them all, for all I care. Leave them to their fate...would be easier for you, you know. Because the more you try to save, the the harder the game will get.” Presto grit his teeth a bit, biting his tongue to keep him from shouting out profanity after profanity at the draconequus.

“So what do I ‘win’ if I bring any out?”

“Their respective Element.” Discord’s tail extended out, the box open to show the six elements still within. However they were as grey as steel, as if they had lost all of their magical powers. That must’ve been what Discord meant when he said he corrupted them. “Sounds like quite the deal, eh? You win their freedom and get an element off me. I’m such a gracious host, aren’t I? Hahahah!”

“What do I have to do, Discord?!” Discord slouched a bit to the question. Did he really just ask that?
“Ugh! Don’t you ponies ever listen? Well, if you don’t want to hear it clearly...how about this?” Discord suddenly appeared behind Presto, his paw coming around Presto’s neck, as if they were best buds. “To play my game you need a plan. And to beat me, you need to save all you can. In the darkness of my game, you’ll find a blue-lit flame. Burn away the darkness, and replace it with kindness. Spread the flame and destroy cold’s ferocity, that is a sure sign of generosity. Honestly, I tell you, royalty will demand loyalty. But fire will make their fate tragic, unless saved with magic. And once, thereafter, you can all die with laughter.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“Remember it, Presto.” Discord ducked back, disappearing once more. “Remember it, and see if you can save them. Or die trying. Hehahahah!” The lights died a bit, centering on the door in the middle of the abyss Presto was trapped in.

Alone once more, Presto simply had no choice, but to continue on. Grabbing the knob with his teeth and turning it slightly, Presto pulled open the door just slightly. Moving his head back, he slipped a hoof between the door and the doorway. Presto whipped the door open expecting something horrible to pop out. Nothing did. Instead, Presto was greeted to a hallway..or rather a corridor. The ceiling was low. The walls were lined with boards and wooden studs. Presto walked forward, finding that the unsettling noise of his hooves against stone would not be leaving him soon. Taking a deep breath, the unicorn pressed on. His hooves clopped, echoing off the dark and dreary walls.

“Damn...its like a dungeon in here.” Presto said this without much consciousness of him saying it. A hoof came up quickly to cover his mouth. He waited, tensing, once again expecting the silence to lash out at him for disturbing its peace. His eyes darted around, only able to see so far thanks to the torches held up along the walls. They were few and far between, often barely making it to the next, or leaving a patch of pitch blackness in between the safe havens of these dim lights.

“I need to get a hold of myself.” He scolded himself mentally, “Everypony is counting on me...” The reminder of that pressure made him groan a bit to himself, between clenched teeth and through a tight throat.

“Ahh...”

“Eh?” Presto’s ears perked up. A pained and weak groan echoed through the corridor. Followed by the groan was a sharp chill. “Hello?” Presto called out, finding the courage to break the silence quickly. If it wanted to behead him for being a bit too loud, it probably would’ve by now...right?

“Aghh...” The groan passed through again, chilling Presto again. His heart was pounding hard, now. Drumming in his ears, accompanying the groan in an eerie chant. The groan echoed again down from the darkness. “Uuuuuugh...”

“Twilight? Rarity? Rainbow? Anypony? C’mon talk to me!” Presto’s legs began to carry him towards the noise. He trotted at a jogging pace, following the pained cries. The torches passed as dim reminders of his place, but Presto’s courage rose to shadow the horrible feeling of misplacement and just petrifying terror that attempted to lock his legs still.

“Aughhh...” As Presto trotted on, his speed began to increase. He was almost running now. His hooves clopped heavily against the stone ground. Torches passed in dim blurs. As he came closer, the groaning was beginning to sound familiar. But not of any of the six he expected to find. No, this voice was particularly special to Presto. It made his heart sink when thinking of who it might be. Who it reminded him of and who, no doubt, would just be used as a toy against Presto. Presto didn’t doubt Discord’s cruelty. If it was her...Presto wasn’t sure what he’d do. Especially without his horn.

“Ahhhhhhh!” The cries became more pained, borderline screaming now. Presto was sprinting now. The torches were becoming more and more frequent, or maybe he was just moving that fast. A pair of yellow dots appeared in the distance. He was getting close now. Those pair of distant torches. They must be...he had to be close!

“Trixie, I’m coming!” Presto called when in the homestretch. He didn’t care to wonder why she would be here, but he was certain she was, and that he had to save her. “Hang on!”

“AHHHHHHHHHHH!” She was screaming now.

“I’m coming. I’m coming, hang on, please!” The screaming continued, utterly piercing and infinitely dire. “Hang on! I’m here!” He couldn’t think of anything better to say. Not enough time to think, now, really. He was too close to slow down...so close...closer...almost...the lights grew brighter and brighter.

A dozen torches seemed to light up at once around Presto. The blue unicorn tossed his head around as he entered the supposed end of the corridor. What he saw in the center, however, made him fall down to the ground, his chin digging into the ground. His eyes went wide and his hooves came to the top of his head.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!” Up before Presto was the body of The Great and Powerful Trixie. Her head hung in a noose, her body hanging like a filled sack. Her head was rolled back, empty sockets stared up at the flame-lit ceiling. Her hair was a bloody mop, sagging down towards the ground. Limbs hung on barbed wire around Trixie’s body. Each were torn straight out of her body, with bits and strands of flesh hanging and dripping blood. She was ripped apart and hung on display right in Presto’s way. His eyes stared up at those eyeless eyes, recalling what they were before...

Purple eyes looked sidelong away from a mirror to the bashful fan.

“Yes? What is it?” The Great and Power Trixie inquired as Presto came closer. His bluish-grey mane was slicked back in some feign attempt to look good.

“H-hello, Miss Trixie. My name is Presto, I’m a huge fan of yours and I-”

“Another fan?” The lighter blue unicorn said unamused, turning her head towards Presto, “Well make yourself useful and adjust my mirror.” She looked back to the mirror, her tone firm and fierce. Presto stared blankly at her for a moment, unsure exactly what had just happened. “I do not have all day!”

“O-oh! Sorry!” Presto quickly jumped at the mirror. His horn glowed as an idea came to the unicorn. A small stream of magic came from his horn and touched the mirror, adjusting it slightly. She didn’t seem to take notice as she just reexamined herself and continued to brush her pale mane with the floating brush. Presto stood watching her. He was simply stricken. Her demanding demeanour. Her beautiful mane. Her heavenly voice. And the way her eyes looked at herself in the mirror, as if she was constantly telling herself she was the best and that no one could ever best her. It was all just so captivating. Presto was quite sure he was in love.

“Are you still here?” Trixie turned back to Presto, a brow raised with irritation. “Leave me! The Great and Powerful Trixie must rest!” Her hoof raised to shoo Presto away. Presto couldn’t say no to her...who could? He just gazed at her for a moment longer before trotting away. Yes. He was certain he could have her.

But now he never could.

“TRIXIE!” Presto cried in distress. He was too hurt, too much in pain to get up and look at her. Tears welled in his eyes, running down in sorrowful streams to the stone floor. “No, no, no, no! This is a dream...a dream...a-” Looking back up, Presto’s horrible sight was gone. Instead was just the room with two torches. No body. No blood. No rope...or so he assumed until he looked higher up. A lone noose hung, swaying idly in the non-existent wind. Dots of red decorated the rope as it waited grimly for the next head to be held in its deadly embrace.

“What...but...” The rope came undone before Presto’s very eyes and flopped onto the floor like a dead snake. Presto initially took some steps back, not wanting anything to do with it...but he caught sight of Trixie’s hat. It sat on the top of the stack, perfect and delightfully light in contrast to dreariness of this terrible place. It leaned expectantly towards Presto.

“Hnn...” Presto immediately assumed this was one of Discord’s games. He expected something horrible...but this? This wasn’t chaos...this was pure torture. Presto began to slowly approach the hat. Circling around the bundle of rope, he expected it to lunge out at him to ensnare him like a boa constrictor. Timidly, Presto extended a hoof and nudged the rope. It remained still, but the hat stirred just slightly. The star covered top leaned in his direction once more.

“You think I’m that stupid...?” Presto grumbled this under his breath and retreated slightly away from the hat. His hooves came down firmly in place. “I’m not going near it...no way am I falling for another one of your sick jokes, Discord.” Presto growled this, slowly becoming more and more angry. Presto, however, despite his defiance from touching the hat, couldn’t help but keep his eyes on it. Despite doing nothing, but leaning towards him, Presto could feel it staring at him. It felt as if as he looked at it, it looked back, locking them in a staring contest.

Presto finally tore himself away. His initial reaction was to go right back to staring the hat down. Instincts screamed at him, assuring him that if he took his eyes off the hat for one second it would move and attack him. Presto did his best to ignore this instinct, even moving away from the hat, in search of a door in this room. He began to trot to the other side of the room, seeing a few barrels in the corner, some more studs to keep the ceiling from crashing down and crushing him. He tried to focus on these things, taking in account on what was here and what wasn’t. Maybe that’d give him an idea as to where he was.

The hat didn’t break its gaze on him, though. Presto could feel it. The hat’s ‘eyes’ were drilling holes in the back of his head. It demanded Presto give him his undivided attention...or else. The itch to look was becoming unbearable. So Presto came to a compromise. He’d glance at it. Look at it briefly once, and if it didn’t move, he’d ignore it forever. If it did...something, anything, then he’d keep an eye on it. Presto took a deep breath. He held it, his cheeks puffing out slightly. Turning his head quickly, Presto looked to the hat.

It was still in place. It had not moved, had not stirred. It was just a hat. This was just a trick to psyche Presto out. Presto exhaled and felt a bit of relief wash over him. Turning away from the hat again, Presto continued to wander his eyes about the hopelessly dark room. As he looked, his eye caught a small reflection. It was a door knob. Smiling a bit, he trotted over. Presto had no idea what was on the other side of that door, but it would no doubt be better than here.

Stopping in front of the door, Presto leaned his head down and latched onto the knob with his teeth. He attempted to turn it and pull. The door refused to move. The knob would not turn, and it held firm before Presto. It would now allow him to pass, simple as that. Defeated, Presto cringed and turned to find another door.

The hat sat at his feet. Presto, startled, backed into the door, his eyes wide, staring at the hat once more. It succeeded in keeping his attention, it would seem.

“W-what do you want, huh? You stupid hat!” Presto’s fear turned into anger once more. He was trapped, tricked several times by Discord, and now he was being stalked by a hat resembling the one his idol wore. Discord was just mocking him! Endlessly mocking him with twisted jokes! “Fuck! You!” Presto exclaimed and reared back to stomp down on it. The hat was crushed under his angry hooves. He brought his hooves down again and again. His stomping echoed off the walls, and his roars of frustration followed. “Fuck! You! Fuck you fuck you fuck you!” Each syllable was emphasized with an angry stomp. The walls did not shake, the dust hardly stirred. It was as if the very place he was in, stood still, watching him in old unamusement. Similar to how an old man would stare down a teenager up to mischief.

As his stomping continued, Presto felt something under one of his stomping hooves. Presto ceased his rage briefly, lowering his head and poking at where his hoof hit to make sure he really felt something. Content that he did, Presto picked up the hat and tossed it aside. In the ground and slightly bent was a bronze key. Under it was a piece of paper. Another trick? No doubt, but the key gave him a bit of hope at least, and settled his anger for a moment. Presto slid the key away from the paper, holding it up under the torch’s light to read it.

Hang in there.

Presto spit out the note with a growl at the sick joke. An angry hoof came down on it, grinding it into the ground a bit. Lowering his head, Presto picked up the key and trotted to the door. He had more than enough of this place. All it was, was taunt after taunt. Carefully positioning the key in his mouth, the unicorn placed the key in the keyhole and turned it hearing the lock turn and click. He opened the door, finally, leaving the rope and the beaten hat behind.

The blue unicorn wandered into yet another corridor. However this one was much wider, not quite as claustrophobic. Torches seemed to be a bit less scarce. The hallway was long, as Presto quickly found out. Minutes seemed to pass as he simply proceeded forward. The only sound in this dead hall was his hooves hitting against the stone floor. He had become accustomed to the noise, and so it didn’t feel as disturbing to have it float around in the darkness. Still it was the only noise, the only thing happening. He simply walked on and on. Minutes had to have turned to hours. Hours perhaps even days...no he wasn’t that silly, but the hallway had no end! The further he walked, the less progress he felt like he was making. When looking back, the door to the old corridor was long gone.

He dimly wondered if going back now would end up being just as hopeless as going forward.

Presto’s head began to hang in exhaustion. This whole ordeal was draining. From dealing with Discord, his games, and now this monotonous corridor, Presto’s body was finally realizing just how trying of a day it had been. His legs began to ache slightly. His front hooves were sore from his outburst. And he was stressed. How was he supposed to find the other six if he couldn’t get out of this darn passageway? Sighing, Presto stopped and let himself collapse for a moment.

“How long does this thing go on...?” Presto asked no one in particular. His tired eyes looked down the hallway and saw only more and more dimly lit stone. There seemed to be no end in sight. Was this another game of Discord’s? Seemed like a very boring game for Discord. Presto would’ve expected something more...exciting. Perhaps he ought to be thankful that this game, if that’s what it was, gave him a chance to rest, at least. A chance to collect himself and slow down.

Presto rolled onto his back while on the cold floor. A small sigh escaped his lips as his body relaxed against the welcoming coolness. It was nice, not great, but it had a small sense of peace to it. It was almost...nostalgic. Closing his eyes, Presto went to a day back in Ponyville.

It was hot. Not just hot, boiling, burning. Most ponies had stayed in to avoid the scorching heat. The pegasus were scrambling to collect clouds to block the sun from Ponyville, but the sun seemed to not have any of that. It simply dried out the clouds, thinning them, and making them hardly useful. Rain was a laughable idea. It was simply too hot.

For those who were forced to sit outside, the pegasus simply decided to try and shade them, but gathering the clouds and replacing them turned out to be even more tiring on them. Eventually that idea was even forgotten. So those stuck outside were at the mercy of the fierce sun. It may not have been as quite as hot as a desert sun, but if you were to ask anypony how hot that day was, they’d say that a trip to the desert would’ve been refreshing. Presto was one of those unfortunate ponies.

He was out street performing. It was a very slow day for it, as you could’ve guessed. So rather than stay in one place in the market as he normally would, Presto decided to try and entertain each of the vendors with personal shows. He hoped it would help them through this particularly unpleasant heat-wave. Many of the vendors were grateful for the offer, but few actually accepted, claiming it was simply ‘too hot’ for a magic show. The rest weren’t so nice and simply told Presto to ‘scream, beat it, hit the road, ect.’

Presto was about to give up for the day when he saw a particular pony trot into the market and wave him over.

“Presto, over here!” She called.

“Trixie, dear!” Presto exclaimed, “What are you doing here?”

“Well I just came to check and see how my hunk of a partner was doing.” Trixie giggled.

“You know, flattery doesn’t get you anywhere with me, oh ‘Great and Powerful Trixie’.” And to make his point, in a teasing manner of course, Presto turned away from her, his head up snobbily.

“Well how about a gift?” Presto was about to turn around.

“A gift?” He was suddenly very very cold. His mane hung, and his coat was soaked. His eyes went wide in surprise, but a smile grew with how refreshing it was. “Awww...Trixie...I love you.” He said, laughing to look back to her.

“I love you, too.” Responded the fleshless head of Trixie. Eyes bulged out their sockets, veins could be seen around her skull, pumping blood through her head. Her ears were nothing but a couple of white stubs. Her horn was huge, but broken at the tip, and dotted with red. Her mane clung to her bare scalp, dirty, old, and nothing more than white strands of straw. The sky had darkened and suddenly Presto was alone with the faceless Trixie in the market. The ground exploded around Presto, rubble and gravel flew through the air like shrapnel as chains erupted and shackled Presto in place. They first bound his legs, then tied around his body, then his neck, and around his muzzle.

“How about a kiss?” The creature once known as Trixie asked, her voice distorted and full of earth. Worms and maggots began to crawl out from her skull, falling to the ground in clumps of flesh-eating white. Presto couldn’t scream. He couldn’t move. He could just watch as Trixie’s skull parted her jaw just slightly, a green tongue sticking out to effectively french-kiss the trapped unicorn.

“No!” Presto stood up. His eyes shot around, paranoid to see that monstrosity of Trixie again.

“That wasn’t very nice.” And there she was, standing in the darkness on the far side of the hallway, “I thought you loved me.”

“Be quiet, Discord! How dare you even think about doing any of that stuff to Trixie?!”

“Discord? I’m hurt, Presto, dear. Its me. Your love.”

“Shut up! Tell me where the other six are!”

“You’ll have to catch me first, Love. Eheheheh!” The Trixie cackled like an old witch and turned, running off into the darkness.

“Get back here, you twisted son of a bitch!” Presto thundered after her into the darkness of the corridor. It didn’t even occur to him the torches behind him had died.